


Don't Wait 「Revenge? Nah 」

by lilipoppii



Series: Short Stories: MX [7]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Crack, F/M, Fluff, aka minhyuk, crown prince wonho, kind of, minhyuk is a crazy guy, prince jooheon, revenge against jooheon's ex, super secret mission time, the ball is ruined?, to keep you out of harm's way, wonho joins the plan, you get drugged, you rat out your friends' plan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26186044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilipoppii/pseuds/lilipoppii
Summary: When you walk into the ball, it’s with a clear conscience, but that doesn’t mean that you will not keep a lookout for the gang™ to keep them from enacting their plan of revenge on Mina Kwon, the girl who had broken Jooheon’s heart. However, much like anything involving one Lee Minhyuk, there are always unforeseen things lurking around every corner.
Relationships: Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Reader
Series: Short Stories: MX [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1900846
Kudos: 3





	Don't Wait 「Revenge? Nah 」

**Author's Note:**

> **Foreward**  
>  This is a part of a social media au that I originally planned to post to tumblr, but for some reason deleted it before I could post it? Yeah, I dunno. 
> 
> A small run-down: Wonho is a crown prince, Jooheon is Wonho's cousin that decided to pursue music instead of dealing with royal things, Kihyun is your boss, Hyungwon is one of your best friends, and Minhyuk is your crazy best friend (there's literally nothing he won't do). 
> 
> I wish I hadn't deleted the social media part as it is much funnier as a series. This was the last part so all the crazy antics kind of died down, but they're referenced in this part.
> 
> * * *

Shrouded in darkness with one bright light hanging over a table where blueprints are spread out, bodies on either side. At the lead stands Minhyuk, golden hair with black on black aviators pushing back the stray locks from his face as he crosses his arms over a black nondescript t-shirt covered by a tactical gun belt, the butt of the guns poking out from under his armpits. He moves slowly back and forth while he studies the layout in front of him, 

Across from him is Hyungwon, similar black clothing with his eyes skewed in focus on the touch screen cradled in both hands. He’s trying to memorize their target, one Mina Kwon, who had been the prime suspect of major heartbreak for their newest pack member, up-and-coming rapper Lee Jooheon. He licks his lips as he flicks through the pictures, all of which were screen captures from various security cameras all over Seoul. He would never ask Minhyuk how he obtained them, having known the other guy for 3 years was already too long to know just how resourceful he was when he didn’t even need to be. Hyungwon sets the tablet down on the edge of the table, “Do we have a plan of attack?”

Minhyuk leans forward, resting his hands on the table atop the blueprints before he reaches his right hand forward and runs it along the south side of the hotel, “We’re going to enter from the south, I’ve already gone and broken the lock on the staff door. We’ll enter there.” 

“Of course you have,” Kihyun’s voice calls as he rounds a corner on the far side of the room, lips smacking as he munches on a fruit roll-up. 

Hyungwon eyes the new body, black dress slacks up to a black button-down covered by a… spring yellow cardigan. He grabs the tablet and lifts it, ready to hit the CEO. He doesn’t see the amused glint in Minhyuk’s eyes as he lifts a brow curious as to how that plays out. Unfortunately for Minhyuk, Hyungwon lowers the tablet before sending Kihyun a glare, “What the hell are you wearing?”

Kihyun lifts the lapel of his cardigan, face slowly morphing in indignation, “My cardigan?”

“Yes, that,” Hyungwon frowns, hands squeezing the device in his hands tightly, “What about dress for stealth did you misunderstand?”

Minhyuk cuts them off, “What he wears won’t matter, Kihyun is the distraction,” it earns him a shout of displeasure from the CEO, which he ignores. He points to a closet along the hallway from the broken hotel staff door, “I’ve stored our change of clothes here. We will be blending in as waiters until we find an opportune moment. Meanwhile, Kihyun will pull the attention of the security detail by acting suspiciously,” his eyes cut to Kihyun. He rolls his tongue against the inside of his cheek in thought. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Kihyun’s eyes  widened , “Do what?!”

Hyungwon traces his finger over the path that Minhyuk had laid out, doing his best to memorize it. After all the years he’s known Minhyuk, it was better not to know what ‘ yeah, I can do it ’ means as it had never been good to have him break down his plans; not that he ever did. They were always a complete surprise. 

Minhyuk flicks his wrist, eyes taking in the analog face, “It’s time to move out.”

The hotel’s ballroom is grand, beautiful marble and golden water fountain  as  the centerpiece  as while the crowd adorned in silk gowns and three-piece suits  as they  rotate clockwise around it in dance. Sheer drapes of gold and cream are hanging from the ceiling to tuck into the chandelier before dropping down the rest of their length toward the ground. Tables are spread around the ballroom’s centerpiece, crowded with the upper echelon as they converse about things you never cared to think about. The hand on the small of your back pulls you in tighter as you spin about the small space you’ve been occupying since they asked you to dance.

Crown Prince Wonho, smiles down at you as he leads you around at a slow pace as to not stress out your ankle you had twisted a couple of days earlier while pressing his cheek against your temple as his eyes scan the crowd, “I had them increase security and Mina made it inside safely, but I haven’t seen Jooheon yet.” He spins you both around so he can check out the opposite side of the room, his eyes trying to focus on crowds of dignitaries in hopes he can catch a face that doesn’t belong in the usual monotony. It’s not easy.

You also let your eyes pass over the crowd of overly unfamiliar faces in hopes of finding one familiar one in the sea of unknown. It’s your eyes that see Jooheon first when he enters the ballroom, looking dapper in the black velvet with his hair slicked back as his dimples pop out with his smile. When he catches your eyes, he winks before continuing to peer around the room for the whole reason he was there. Mina Kim. The girl who had broken his heart. Wonho must feel the shift in you as he turns you away from his cousin and onto the circle surrounding King Lee, the center of attention of some prominent businessmen. 

It’s far behind him, back in the corner where drapes cover the entrance to the kitchen, but you see a shock of blonde hair that has you stopping before Wonho can spin you around again. He pulls back and looks at you, noting the worry gracing your face, “What is it?” You look back at the spot over Wonho’s shoulder and frown when a lady appears from behind the drapes, “I thought I saw Minhyuk going into the kitchen.”

His own heart rate picks up, Minhyuk was merely a name to him, but the stories that had been shared with him by you, your friends, and the criminal journalist of the famed Doomsday Hyuk had set the direction a night could head with his presence being at the ball. Part of him had hoped that you were joking with him when you had told him that Minhyuk, Hyungwon, and Kihyun had some plan to get back at Mina for Jooheon but that seemed to be stupid of him. He pulls you to him by his hand on the back of your neck to place a kiss to your forehead, “I’m going to go check that out.”

You watch him leave, your eyes naturally making their way to the only other person you’re familiar with within the room. Jooheon, your mini-boss, stands across the room in front of Mina who is smiling with sparkles in her eyes - it makes you want to gag, but you continue to observe them. Your ankle throbs as you stand there, so you look around before deciding on a mostly empty table to occupy one of  those chairs; barely greeting the original occupants before your eyes focus back on Jooheon and Mina again. Objectively, she’s very beautiful, much prettier than the picture you had seen of her and Jooheon from back when they dated which seems unfair. Did she even realize how much Jooheon had suffered because of how nonchalantly she had dumped him? 

A champagne flute is dropped next to you on the table, the waiter’s arm blocking your view from the scene that is setting a raging fire in the pit of your stomach. How could he just let her smile so happily around him? You grasp the flute and dump it back, chugging down the expensive liquor before handing it back to the waiter that was lingering at your side. The body leaves wordlessly, leaving you to stew as you watch Mina excuse herself. It stirs you into action, standing on wobbly legs as you try to remember that you had a hurt ankle before hobbling your way across the dance floor to fall onto Jooheon’s side. He catches you easily, a frown deepening on his face, “You really shouldn’t be on your feet for long periods of time, babygirl.”

Jooheon helps you back into the tables crowding the dancing area and pushes you into an empty chair before he squats down in front of you to inspect your ankle, “It seems okay.”

“What did she say?” It comes out before you can stop it. Maybe you shouldn’t have had champagne. 

His eyes find yours, his thumbs rubbing against the sides of your injured ankle, “What I expected her to say.” A humorless laugh leaves him as he places your foot gingerly back to the ground to push back to his feet, “I feel better, though,” he shoves his hands into his pants pockets, “I think I should go get you some ice for your ankle. It seems to be swelling.”

You shake your head, making to stand only to stumble back into your chair, “Wonho should be back from the kitchen soon. You should go to enjoy the ball.” Your head spins as you tell him this, bracing your head against your hands as you try to keep the room from swimming before your eyes; just how strong was rich-people alcohol? 100 proof? 

Jooheon watches as you slump in your chair, clutching your head, and squats back down to stare up at you, “What’s wrong?”

“The champagne is hitting me hard,” you comment, lifting your head to see him back in front of you with motion sickness breaking into your body. It was weird considering you were not moving in the slightest, but you felt the vomit rising. You stand on your swaying feet and try to brush past Jooheon in search of a trash can, but he grabs for you to steady you and cannot hold it back anymore. You turn and let it all out on top of a lady sitting just to your right in what was once a beautiful navy silk gown. 

Jooheon  tried to pull you back from the lady as soon as he realized what was happening, but the damage was already done. There sat his Aunt Milford, covered in vomit, as she scowled at the girl in his arms. He tightens his hold on you, pulling you back into his chest as he brushes the hair back from your sweaty face before addressing his aunt, “I’m so sorry, Aunt Millie. She was injured earlier this week and I-”

Aunt Milford cuts him off by raising her hand and rising to her feet. She storms from the ballroom, leaving a disgusting trail behind her. 

You slump in his arms, dead weight as he glances around at the growing crowd. Jooheon searches for his cousin who hasn’t resurfaced since you mentioned him leaving for the kitchen more than twenty minutes ago. In the back of his mind, the fact nags at him. He has dealt with your friend Minhyuk personally and the thought that this is somehow related to the overzealous troublemaker is fighting against his better sense. Weakly you swat at his hand that holds you to him and he places you back in the chair that his aunt had occupied just moments before. You brush a hand against his chest, “Mina,” you whine at him. 

Jooheon pulls near you, “What?”

“Mina,” you gurgled, pushing at him weakly now, “Go, Mina.”

His circling panic becomes full-blown as he jumps to his feet as the words fall into place. This was Minhyuk’s plan. He was after Mina. Jooheon surveys the room, eyes methodical as they take in everything around him. Near the door to the ballroom, he watches a waiter glance around before sneaking through the door into the hall. He wants to watch you, but you push him one last time into action as he takes off at a sprint for the ballroom entrance. The first thing he hears when the doors close behind him is a woman screaming. 

The movies always make you believe you would know the voice of the person you loved from just a scream alone, but the screamer seems foreign to him. It doesn’t stop him, he pushes forward in the direction of the commotion to find Mina slapping a tall figure with blonde hair and a waiter uniform. He’s roughly holding her upper arm as he yanks her down the hall. Jooheon picks up his pace, not the least bit surprised when Minhyuk’s head whips around at the sound of his footfalls. Nothing should be surprised when it comes to Minhyuk, even this kidnapping he had joked about mere days ago. 

Minhyuk reaches into the jacket of the waiter uniform he had gotten ahold hold of to pull out a gun, spinning Mina into his grasp before putting the gun to her head. He smirks at Jooheon when he skids to a stop a few feet away, “When did you figure it out?”

“YN,” he huffed, his hands sweating as he tries to avoid the panicked look on Mina’s face, “Don’t you think you’ve harmed her enough? First, you chase her with a chainsaw long enough to fracture her ankle. Then you plant a bomb in the hospital she’s staying at and now? Drugging her? What are you thinking, Minhyuk?”

“You know him?!” Mina screams, the octave much higher than her normal.

Jooheon raises his hands in defense then, not scared of Minhyuk as much as he is of the anger coming from his ex, “Mina, listen, Minhyuk and I are friends. At least, that’s what I assume being  apart a part of the pack means.” His eyes drift to the blonde’s face just long enough to receive his nod of acknowledgment, “I know that sounds crazy, he’s not considered a sane individual.”

“Aw, Honeyboy, that’s so sweet of you to say,” Minhyuk gushes, pressing the muzzle of his gun harder into Mina’s temple, “But you knew we couldn’t just let her get away with this.”

Mina is sweating, her hands white as she tries to peel Minhyuk’s arm from its spot around her shoulders where he keeps her stationary. 

Jooheon used to think that seeing her so panicked would make him feel better, seeing her suffer as much as he did when she left him for his cousin, but he doesn’t feel anything. Maybe time really did fix  that everything , he shrugs internally as he tries to take a step forward, “Min, can we discuss this? You’re not infallible and Mina’s father is tenacious when it comes to the safety of his daughter.”

Minhyuk scoffs, “It’s never stopped me before.”

That’s when Jooheon sees yellow, it’s at the far end of the hall, but it proceeds until there stands his boss. Kihyun is in an ugly yellow cardigan that hangs from his slender frame. He looks nervous like how Jooheon should feel, but it’s only when Jooheon takes in the yellow sweater that he realizes something is amiss. He swallows, “What the hell is going on, boss?”

Kihyun looks down at the device between his stomach and the cardigan and tries not to scream. When Minhyuk and Hyungwon had decided that he would be the distraction, he had never imagined it would be to this degree. He’s not even sure Hyungwon knew what Minhyuk had saddled him with as the other boy had been the first to integrate into the party at Minhyuk’s command. “Super Secret Mission Time,” he weakly comments, pulling his cardigan closed around him; chills traveling over his body.

“And Wonho?” he questions the two boys, his cousin’s mysterious disappearance returning to him as he remembers you passed out in the ballroom.

“Hyungwon should have him,” Minhyuk shrugs, “It was really a group effort this time. I didn’t know Won had it in him, but here we are.” 

Mina struggles in his hold and that’s the only time Minhyuk is distracted enough to not keep his eyes on Jooheon. It doesn’t give him any comfort as Kihyun is always watching him. It doesn’t give him any time to enact a poorly planned rescue mission either unless he could get Kihyun on his side, but he figured  that was why his boss had been strapped with the bomb, to begin with. Minhyuk knew Kihyun didn’t have the constitution to hold to any kind  of nefarious activities. 

“So,” Minhyuk smirked, “Here’s the plan. You’re going to call off the extensive guard surrounding the hotel. We’re going to leave with Mina and if everything goes to plan, Mina will be returned a few days later.”

“Unharmed?”

The blonde gunman raises a brow, “You’re in no position to negotiate.”

Mina screams in his hold once more for good measure, but the lack of response by the palace guard is disheartening. Jooheon chews his lip, “What exactly did Hyungwon do?”

“Nothing I wouldn’t do,” Minhyuk explains as he starts backing away with Mina down the hall from which Kihyun had appeared. Kihyun is quick to follow suit, the only difference being  that he presses himself between Jooheon’s view of Mina and belatedly Minhyuk. This must be where Kihyun’s role in this plan comes into action. It leaves the deficit growing between where Jooheon is positioned in the hallway and where Minhyuk is slowly slipping away. It’s only when Minhyuk disappears around a corner that an alarm sounds in the hotel - the palace used the alarm whenever there was a problem so the security would focus in the main hall. The hall he was in. The hall he was in with Kihyun, strapped with an incendiary device. 

Loud footfalls of more than a dozen men come up from behind Jooheon, he can tell before even hearing that it’s the captain of the palace guard. “Jooheon, what is going on?”

He steps in front of his boss to shield him from the captain’s eyes, turning to find that the action was unnecessary as he finds the eyes of most of the guard behind him. Just behind them at the far back, he sees his cousin, you and Hyungwon being escorted from the hotel. Hyungwon in cuffs, but you and Wonho are on the backs of two guardsmen. He licks his lips, “What happened to the Prince?”

The captain is raising his gun, one finger to the squib in his ear as he listens to whatever is being said. When it’s over, the hand returns to steady his gun as he signals for Jooheon to move, but the boy refuses. “Jooheon, there’s been an attempt on your cousin’s safety and even his date had been drugged. Let us do our job. The security footage shows the man behind you had entered with the one that attacked the Crown Prince.”

“He’s my boss,” Jooheon explains, keeping his body firmly in front of Kihyun’s, “He was coming to find me since I wanted to discuss something about my mixtape coming out in August. He wasn’t part of their plans. Find our bomb expert, please.”

The captain lifts his hand, shooting two fingers sideways, a group of men pull away from the crowd of armed men and fall back. 

“Mina,” Jooheon mentions, the thought coming to him, “One of them took Mina down the hall behind my boss. I was trying to rescue her when I stumbled upon my boss like this. C-can you send someone to look for her as well?”

The captain makes another motion, a group shooting forward past Jooheon and Kihyun before he points at Jooheon, “Sir, you need to come this way. It’s not safe for you to be around him. You don’t know when that bomb could go off. We need to get you somewhere far away from here  in  on the off-chance that it goes off.”

“I can’t just leave him,” Jooheon responds weakly.  Even though he knows it sounds ridiculous,  but he he couldn’t bring himself to leave Kihyun’s side. He was the first person after Mina that he had opened up to and that made him a very big part of the Jooheon he was now. Sure, it was nothing like how he felt with you, but the man still means a lot to him. 

“Go ahead,” Kihyun calls from behind him, “Don’t worry about me, Jooheon. I’ll be fine.”

Jooheon turns to look at Kihyun, just enough to see his face, “Are you sure?”

A forced nod, “I’m fine.”

It’s only when Jooheon stands abreast of the armed men that a group in tactical gear appears, pushing through the bodies to the front of where Kihyun stands with his arms raised. He could see how scared his boss was, the constant swallowing, wiping his brow and shuffling had been the main clues. The group surrounds Kihyun before the man running the scene looks back at the palace guard’s captain, “We need to clear this area.”

The captain next to Jooheon, motions for his men to fall back before he grabs Jooheon’s arm and tries to pull him away. He fights it for a few moments, eyes never leaving Kihyun even as the other group crowds around him and block Jooheon’s sight. The guard only releases him after pushing him into the back of the palace limo and slamming the door shut. Loud slaps against the top of the limo have the driver speeding off away from the hotel and he grimaces, Kihyun shouldn’t be left alone. 

Jooheon presses his back into the seat he is on when the hotel disappears from the window and his eyes land on Hyungwon followed by Wonho with his arms wrapped around you. Mina has her arms crossed, face pinched in fury just on the other side of his cousin. The partition between the front of the limo slides open, Minhyuk’s laugh ringing in the limo, “Welcome to the party, Honeyboy.” Honking horns and shouting outside of the limo have Jooheon quickly pulling his seatbelt out and securing it in place over his lap. It isn’t until Kihyun’s face appears in the partition that he realizes he’s been had. 

He shoots a glare to his cousin, “When had you been let in on their little plan?”

“A few moments before the party started,” he shrugs, tightening his hold on your sleeping figure, “Princess had told me about the guys having a plan, but it was Hyungwon who gave me all the details. She really didn’t know about the plan, just that there was one.”

“And Mina?” he growls, anger, or maybe just his blood pressure rising.

Hyungwon grins, “Did you know that Minhyuk is the one man that Mr. Kwon won’t touch? Apparently Mr. Kwon owes Minhyuk millions for bailing him out of a company collapse a few years back.”

“What?” Now he’s confused. The Kwon’s had not once ever seemed so far down that they would need a bailout. 

“Tell him, Mina,” Hyungwon urges her, not at all concerned by her distress.

Mina glares at Won, eyes like fire as she kicks at the wooden dry bar set up on the right side of the limo, “My dad was close to bankruptcy back when we were dating. I was told to dump you and go for Wonho, he’s the Crown Prince and would be able to save us from anything, but then Mr. Lee approached my dad with a proposition. If I gave up on the Crown Prince, he would bail our company out, as long as he held shares in the company.”

Wonho shifts on the bench seat, pulling you closer to him, “I didn’t know about Minhyuk as the investor had never made public knowledge, but I had had my suspicions. You know I would never hurt you, Joo.”

“You do realize how crazy this sounds, right?” Jooheon  demands as he grips the door and chair he sits on when Minhyuk rounds a corner rather fast and almost slams him into the door even with his seatbelt on. “And really? Whose great idea was it to roofie YN? Hasn’t she been through enough?”

Hyungwon chews his lip guiltily, “It wasn’t originally part of the plan and we weren’t sure how to handle her giving the information to Wonho, so we had to think of something quick. Sleeping pills would have taken too long to work and we were on a strict timetable.”

The limo slams to an immediate stop, Minhyuk’s face appearing in the small window, “Alright, asses and elbows, we need to ditch this limo before it’s tracked down.”

Kihyun’s voice carries between the small space between Minhyuk and the window, “I think they’re already onto us. I just got an APB on the limo. We need to hurry.”

“You heard the man!” Minhyuk shouts before throwing open his door and leaving the limo. Everyone around Jooheon joins suit, pushing past him towards the back to climb out and into the deserted street; even Mina who still seems pissed. He follows her out, joining the fugitive huddle as he watches Hyungwon pull a tablet out and start typing things onto it, but it’s Minhyuk who leads the charge.

“We’re going to split into groups, Hyungwon’s team, and my team. Hyungwon, you’ve got Jooheon and Kihyun. I’ll take Mina, Wonho, and baby. Won, I’ve sent you the directions to your tablet, we’ll all meet there. Questions? No? Let’s go!”

Minhyuk takes off at a brisk jog, Wonho lifts you bridal style to follow behind him and Mina close behind him. Hyungwon darts off in the opposite direction, pulling Kihyun along with him as he goes. It’s only when they’re a few feet away that  he Jooheon remembers he’s supposed to follow them, so he picks up the sprints after them. 

Hyungwon pushes his hair back as he approaches a Mustang that looks an awful lot like the one Kihyun owns. The thought is confirmed when his boss tosses the keys over the top of the hood to climb into the shotgun seat. Hyungwon opens his door and pulls the seat forward before turning to Jooheon, “Come on, man, we have to get out of here.”

Jooheon jumps into the backseat, pulling his knees to his chest as Hyungwon throws the back of the seat back into position before sliding into the driver’s seat. Unlike how haphazardly that Minhyuk had been driving earlier, Hyungwon pulls out of the alley  exactly  at exactly the right speed. He brushes his hair back once more before adjusting the  rearview mirror to see him in the back, “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

“Will I have to die once you answer them?” Jooheon rights himself, pulling his seatbelt on once more as he watches the streets fade away in a blur. 

Hyungwon laughs, rubbing the end of his nose, “Not likely. At least not from us,” he corrects before shifting in his seat, “You know we can never promise anything when it comes to Minhyuk.”

The comment doesn’t diminish his worries as he finally relaxes in the backseat as the car is covered by the night. Jooheon licks his lips, “What exactly had been the plan for this evening?”

“ Vengeance ,” Hyungwon says without preamble, “Minhyuk had sent us a dossier on Mina’s life story and, as always, his intel is impeccable. We didn’t know how infused Minhyuk had been with the life of your ex until he had explained things, even saying that, we had only heard the full story from Mina herself in the limo at the same time as you did. I think Minhyuk has been building up a plan against the Kwon’s for years now. Her breaking your heart had just been the best excuse he could come up with to enact his plan.”

Kihyun points out a direction silently to Hyungwon who turns, before glancing back at him then back at the road. 

“How did Kihyun get to the limo so fast? It felt like I had only left him moments before.”

Kihyun turns to look back at him, “The tactical unit that had been dispatched was one that Minhyuk controls.  They removed the bomb, which was a dud by the way, before they rushed me from the building - it just so happened that I made it to the limo before you. But you were putting up a hell of a fight with your own security detail.”

Jooheon rolls his eyes with a scoff, so he had been played in the biggest way. Even bigger than finding out that his ex-girlfriend that he loved had been a gold-digger only looking for money. Just how intricate could this plan have been that it fell into place so perfectly, even his reactions to everything? 

Hyungwon’s snort pulls his attention, “I know that look and I think we’ve explained enough by now not to question Minhyuk. He may not seem it, but he’s very good at planning things. Even the day at the hospital, it was considerably under capacity.”

“And chasing YN with the chainsaw?”

Hyungwon hums, Kihyun directing him once more, “Maybe a cobra strike? Minhyuk isn’t unbalanced, but he finds joy in the chase and she had given him exactly that. If she hadn’t reacted to him with the chainsaw, he would’ve gotten bored and never bothered her.”

“We should explain that YN is the one person Minhyuk would never hurt on purpose. He had told her to stop running a few times, but she didn’t believe him at the time. Adrenaline and all that.” Kihyun assured as the car comes to a stop in what looks like an empty field. 

Hyungwon nods, “That’s why we offered to find her, our own feelings heightened by hers. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but her mood tends to dictate how the group operates.”

“Why are we here?” Jooheon questions, his eyes drifting up to the star-studded sky.

“Insurance,” Kihyun looks around, “Minhyuk told us to find a place to make sure we weren’t followed. We’re not as experienced as him when it comes to recognizing if we’re being tailed. We’ll be back on the road in a few more moments.”

Hyungwon opens his door, leaving the car to idle, “I’m gonna take a piss.”

Kihyun shrugs, pulling his phone out to check the time. The one downfall of his older car was fixing anything on it was expensive and he loved the Mustang; he didn’t want to put in the time to find the items needed for it. 

“Are you sure the other group is safe with Minhyuk?” his question was a whisper, but Kihyun turns to him anyways, “I told you, Minhyuk will never intentionally harm YN which bleeds  onto Wonho since she likes your cousin. Mina is technically under his protection as Minhyuk still occasionally does shady stuff for their company. No one in that car will come to harm from Minhyuk, that much I can promise and Minhyuk will protect them if the need comes for it.”

Jooheon releases a breath, his eyes finding Hyungwon as he paces back and forth with his phone pressed against his ear. It wasn’t a long conversation, but as soon as it ends, Hyungwon is getting back into the car. “Coast is clear,” he explains as he reverses the car from the wooded area. It takes an hour to backtrack, but Jooheon recognizes the area almost immediately. The area proclaimed as a mafia district where cops were too scared to enter gleams outside of the mustang. 

He’d only ever seen pictures of this area and told if he ever finds himself there to leave as fast as he could. Hyungwon and Kihyun so casually driving into the area have the hairs on his arms rising up and gooseflesh peppering his body. 

“We’re almost there,” Kihyun announces, locking the tablet that Hyungwon had been using when they all split ways earlier. 

“I know what it looks like,” Hyungwon recalls.

Jooheon sits back, not bold enough to stare into the eyes of the men out on the street. It isn’t long before Hyungwon is pulling into an industrial garage, the gate closing behind the car as they take the ramp down to the underground level. He’s not surprised to find the only other car in the garage is a mustang similar to the one he sits in but jet black in color. If he looks close enough he can make out charcoal gray racing stripes running over the hood and down the back of the car. This had not been what he expected to happen when Minhyuk split the team up almost two hours ago. 

Kihyun and Hyungwon climb out, the latter pulling the seat forward as he had back in the alleyway to let Jooheon out. Neither boy waits around for him to get out, Hyungwon groaning as he pulls the typical waiter’s dress jacket from his shoulders and rips the bowtie from his neck. Kihyun, in turn, just cuddles his cardigan closer to his body as they make their way towards the only door on this level of the garage. He pushes the door closed to the mustang and follows after them, even if they were comfortable with the area, he didn’t suspect he ever would be. 

The door is thrown open in front of them as Mina scowls at all of them, “Hurry up, idiots.”

Jooheon notices perceptibly the bag she clutches in her left hand, it’s bulging and splitting in areas, but it doesn’t give way to what could be in the bag as she brushes past his friends and finally  passes him. She doesn’t even glance his way as she pulls keys from her clutch, pops the lock on the mustang with racing stripes, throws the bag into the floor on the other side, and climbs in herself. She peels away in anger,  the pedal to the floor with angry honking when she reaches the gate on the floor above them.

He turns to see Wonho leaning against the open doorway, arms crossed over his chest, “It seems you made it back in one piece. Come inside.”

Jooheon frowns at his cousin as he grows closer to him, “Are you okay with everything?”

Wonho shrugs, “This is probably the most exciting ball I’ve ever attended and I got to finally meet this really cool girl. There’s also the added bonus that my cousin is talking to me. I only see wins from where I stand.”

Minhyuk’s blonde head appears in the open door, “Guys, would you come inside? You’re letting out all the air conditioning.”

Jooheon cannot help the laugh that bubbles out of him. Out of everything that Minhyuk could have said, that had to be the farthest from what he would ever expect from the guy. Wonho pulls the door closed behind Jooheon when he finally makes it inside, not mentioning how the heavy door locks automatically behind them. As he moves further inside, he finds Kihyun and Hyungwon around a table covered in food, Minhyuk and even his cousin taking up two of the empty seats. He hesitantly takes up one of the two remaining seats. “So that’s it? We’re just going to eat food as if nothing happened two hours ago?”

Hyungwon turns to Minhyuk, “Bro, did you do something two hours ago? You promised you would let me help out on your next mission.”

“Wasn’t me,” he says around a mouth full of pizza, sucking in the string of cheese connected to his pizza afterward.

“Kihyun??” Hyungwon turns his eyes on the tired CEO, he looks like he’s barely holding himself up from the activities of the night. The silence Hyungwon is answered with doesn’t break the joke, even when the delayed grunt comes from his boss a few moments too late. 

Jooheon frowns but reaches for a piece of one of the pizzas lining the table anyways. Despite all the stories of Minhyuk that Jooheon had been told, the Minhyuk who sits at the head of the table is happily dancing as he downs another slice of pizza. He even goes as far as to dunk the crust into garlic sauce, moving his body to whatever song is playing on the radio just off to the side of the table. 

You groan, your head splitting as you grab the lamp on the table next to the bed and toss it at the wall, shattering the crystal. A relieved sigh leaves your mouth as you’re covered in darkness. Faintly, you hear someone say you’re awake, but no one rushes to find you and you find that makes you happy. There was no way you could put on a facade to face them when you wanted to carve your own brain out of your skull with a plastic spoon. When the pounding in your head minutely dissolves, you push yourself up to a sitting position, pressing your head between your knees. 

It’s only then that you note that you’re no longer in the dress from the evening. Your legs are covered in sweatpants and when you realize this, you pull at the cloth over your torso; it’s a cotton shirt of some kind, that’s all you can make out in the pitch-black room. When your head swoops by rolling pain, you press your head back between your knees and try to breathe evenly; you would kill for some pain killers, but you don’t want to leave the darkroom. 

Light raps against the door have you turning your head towards the sound, “Who is it?” you whisper, fingers reaching up to massage your temples. 

“It’s me,” Wonho’s voice comes from the other side of the door, “I brought some ibuprofen with me. Minhyuk says it’s the strongest he can get without the doctor questioning his need for such a strong grade.”

That sounds amazing, you think, pushing the blanket down off your feet. With a whine, you sit back up, “Come in.”

Wonho comes in, closing the door swiftly behind him as he approaches the bed, bumping into god knows how many things. He curses at one point and you’re worried he’s stepped onto the lamp you had shattered when you woke up, but he doesn’t say anything about it as his weight dips the bed to your left. In his left hand is a glass of water, in his right the pill, but he reaches out to you with the hand holding the ibuprofen anyways, poking at what he assumes is your shoulder until you grab his hand and he drops the pill into your hand. 

“Please say you have water, this thing feels massive.”

Wonho laughs, pushing his left hand forward until he feels your fingers wrap around the glass and take it from his hand. He cannot see if you take the pill, but he can hear you gulping down the water, so he relaxes some; the pain in his foot the last thing on his mind. 

You turn and place the glass on where you remember the table being, whether or not it ends up where intended is unknown to you as you feel around on the table for your phone. You pick it up and close your eyes before turning on the flashlight feature on the phone.

Wonho grabs the phone when you point the light directly in his eyes. He looks around the room, the glass he had to step over to make it to the bed and the glass he had just given you lays on the ground as well with a hairline crack. It’s a warzone, he notes with a smile before turning to you. Your eyes are squeezed shut so tightly he wonders how bad the migraine was. He shifts over the top of the bed, pushing himself around you to lay against the pillow and pulls you down to his chest. He crosses his legs at the ankles before flipping the flashlight on your phone off to save the battery and not stress you out for much longer. 

You're  curled up against his chest, he also wasn’t wearing the tux you had seen him in at the ball and you were sure if you looked that he would also be sporting a pair of sweatpants; possibly smaller than the  size he would have bought. You rub your face against his chest when he hums a soft melody, his hand wrapping around your back to run up and down your spine in hopes that it’ll relieve some of your discomfort since the start of the night. 

Wonho licks his lips, one hand tucked under his head as he lifts the hand idly drawing patterns on your back up to massage the back of your head. Tonight had not been what he expected the night to be, he’s sure his cousin could mirror that thought, but he wouldn’t change it. Being around you had been sweet and running around with your friends had been exciting. Playing into their plan had given him a taste of danger; he only vaguely understood this was how your life was day-to-day and of the growing conversations you had, everything was beginning to make sense. Especially why you couldn’t explain the friend that chased you around to the point you fractured your ankle. He’d come to that understanding first hand.

“I’m sorry for ruining the ball,” you whisper against his chest. His chest rumbles under your cheek as he continues to massage the back of your head. 

“I had fun,” he counters, pulling you closer to him, “Does Minhyuk host parties?”

Your laugh is loud, beating his chest softly at the question. 

“No, seriously,” he continues, “I think people would get a kick out of him.”

“A real one,” you rub at your temples as the pain spikes from the exertion, but a dull ache compared to how it was when you woke up, “He has no interest in things like that. I believe he sent me files on a government official swindling money from Samsung last year on my birthday. I guess he expected me to use it for some reason?” You let the question hang in the air before shrugging, “He’s a weird one, but that’s our Minhyuk.”

“I’m scared to see what he would get me for my birthday,” he admits, muffling his laugh in hopes of not upsetting your migraine. “Did the official ever get caught?”

You hum, trying to pinpoint the headline you had read a few months after Minhyuk had sent you the papers, “Months later. That’s when the detectives finally broke the case wide open, but they would’ve solved it months before if Minhyuk had sent them what he had on the guy.”

He doesn’t know what  possessed him, but he pulls you against him and presses a kiss to your temple. The feeling of your eyelashes brushing against his chin as you close your eyes and lean into it makes him smile, “Shall we play the question game again until your head feels good enough to face the guys?”

You relax back into your spot against his chest, fingers running over his abs as you think, “How different am I from what you imagined?”

Wonho doesn’t even hesitate, “I still see you as that good girl with a bunch of rowdy friends. The group of friends has only grown by one, but I’m sure Jooheon will fit into the pack easily.”

The mini-boss’ name has you pulling from his hold, only to be tugged back into his arms, “He’s asleep,” Wonho rasps, “He passed out not long after he ate. I think he was in shock that everyone was in on the plan to get revenge on Mina that turned into just giving him the full story of what really happened back when they were dating.”

“I didn’t even get to hear the story from you,” you pout, “You said you would tell me what happened from your side at the ball, but you were gone before I could even ask the question.”

Wonho shifts, rolling onto his side to face you and letting a hand reach up to brush against your cheek, “I learned more about what happened from Minhyuk, but my suspicions had been correct. Mina was only trying to get money for her family’s company and she figured marrying the crown prince of a country would get her access to unlimited funds. That’s why she dumped Jooheon because I was the bigger cash bag. She didn’t even like him, can you believe that? My cousin? He deserves someone who will love him just as much as he loves them. Jooheon would do anything for the person who owns his heart.”

You kiss Wonho’s hand, “I know. He has that vibe.”

Wonho presses his forehead against yours, “What is your question?”

“It’s a shame that I only got to see you in a tux for a few moments.”

He laughs, “That’s not a question.”

“Can you put it back on so that I can take it off of you?”

Wonho knows he’s not supposed to react to that, it’s  game over as soon as he does, but he cannot help it. Whatever it is about you that had pulled him to you made it near impossible to resist your quirky charm. Instead of focusing on the semi he has, he wraps you in his arms, “No, Minhyuk had us all discard our clothes to be burned. Something about not leaving any trace evidence of him for people to find.”

“Is that why we’re in shirts and sweatpants?”

He nods, his chin hitting the top of your head every so often, “Yeah, he had Jooheon strip down before directing him to a bedroom he could use.”

You pout, “But I really liked that dress.”

He runs his fingers through your hair, chuckling as he massages his fingers into your scalp, “I can always get you a new one.”

“I wouldn’t have anywhere to wear it,” you defend, relaxing into him as he continues to massage your head, “Besides, you said you wanted to see me in a skirt.”

“Maybe when your ankle is better,” he agrees. 

“Is that a date?” you grin against his chest.

Wonho smiles as well, closing his eyes as he finds his body being dragged down by exhaustion, “Maybe it is.” He knows you’re close to passing out again as he continues to massage your head, so he grabs the covers that you had pushed down to the end of the bed to pull up over the both of you. You shift into him, and he lets you sleep dragging him under within moments. 


End file.
